So Ive been building wood fired ovens and doing wood fired pizza for several years now. We have a mobile wfo..steel domes..inspired and directed by this very forum! Well, its time to build another and instead of building another big oven I am thinking about building a light weight bicycle version.

I have a 30 inch steel dome that probably doesnt weigh more than 80 pounds. I dont think that much mass (if any) will be necessary because it is just for pizza. Ive heard about a vermiculite board or lightweight foam insulation that might be perfect to lay the hearth bricks on top of.

Im working with a bike manufacturer in the Seattle area that has built many a pedicab/rickshaw bikes. It isnt going to need to move too much..the idea is cheap mobile ovens that dont need a huge production to get from one spot to the other for insurance purposes and being in several spots at once..lower flow pizza production in several spots.

We are going to use an electrical assist to make sure it can get up hills if need be..of course I want to be able to load it in the back of a truck if need to be transport that way.

Im just beginning the design process and really trying to figure out if it makes sense to do this or just build another 48-62" hearth oven on a trailer.

How do you plan on getting around the health and safety issues?
I'm thinking of sinks and moving a hot oven. Even with a steel dome there will be considerable weight involved with all the other paraphernalia including wood to fire the thing. Hope ther are no hills in your town. Bike brakes are usually a joke.

Health and Safety issues? I'm not sure what you mean by that. Think about a pedicab in san francisco with 4 people coming down a hill..disc brakes is what I think they use..in terms of these logistical issues the bike company that I am working with has built many pedicabs and is confident the weight wont be an issue. 500-600lbs on a pedicab is not rare. They are built specifically for it. Weight seems to be big issue so I am accounting for every pound I can down to the dusting flour and peel.

For the dome I dont even think I will clad it. I think that I am going to do a perlite refractory and then maybe piece together aluminum or some other light weight metal on top of that. To keep heat in so that if someone comes up and touches the oven they dont burn themselves.

The idea is also that this oven can "live" at the drive in movie theatre and local pubs where wood storage is possible and where I can get water. Or I bring those things to the oven. I just need ovens that I can park that arent double axle trailers. I hope that I can bike one of these things 100 miles but that isnt the primary goal right now. I need more ovens, low overhead, style, that can be locked up and tucked away.

What is the name of the foam insulation board that people put their hearths on?

Health and Safety issues? I'm not sure what you mean by that. Think about a pedicab in san francisco with 4 people coming down a hill..disc brakes is what I think they use..in terms of these logistical issues the bike company that I am working with has built many pedicabs and is confident the weight wont be an issue. 500-600lbs on a pedicab is not rare. They are built specifically for it. Weight seems to be big issue so I am accounting for every pound I can down to the dusting flour and peel.

For the dome I dont even think I will clad it. I think that I am going to do a perlite refractory and then maybe piece together aluminum or some other light weight metal on top of that. To keep heat in so that if someone comes up and touches the oven they dont burn themselves.

The idea is also that this oven can "live" at the drive in movie theatre and local pubs where wood storage is possible and where I can get water. Or I bring those things to the oven. I just need ovens that I can park that arent double axle trailers. I hope that I can bike one of these things 100 miles but that isnt the primary goal right now. I need more ovens, low overhead, style, that can be locked up and tucked away.

What is the name of the foam insulation board that people put their hearths on?

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